


You Asked For It

by verucasalt123



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Camping, Gen, Male-Female Friendship, Silly, Spells & Enchantments, Spike's dirty mind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-13
Updated: 2015-05-13
Packaged: 2018-03-30 07:53:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3928885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verucasalt123/pseuds/verucasalt123
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tara’s not doing this by herself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Asked For It

**Author's Note:**

> Spike seems to be un-chipped in this story. I have no idea why.

It was finally dark enough for Spike to come out of the tent Tara had spelled to make it safe for him during the day while he slept, until the sun finally went down. At least it wasn’t daylight saving time, so the sunset came a little earlier than during other times of the year. 

“You got the shit you need out here yet, girl?”

“I do not have all of the things I need yet; I don’t appreciate being called ‘girl’ when you know damned well I’m a grown woman, and this project would go a heck of a lot faster if you’d bother to help, you know? It was you who asked for this in the first place.” It had only been a day out in the woods with Spike and she was already so sick and tired of him. She knew she would be, but she also knew there was no way she was going out there alone. 

Spike knew she wasn’t going out there alone, too. He may be vulgar and insist on making comments about her ass or her breasts, as if he were going to convert her to a straight person overnight due to how overwhelmingly sexy he thought he was, but he also had some pretty traditional gender roles embedded into that dirty mind of his. He was the one who needed these particular ingredients for a spell that would keep his crypt hidden even from those who were standing three feet away. There was no way he’d send send a woman off on her own into the forest; women (in general) needed protecting and spending even one or two nights out alone in a tent was unacceptable in his mind. 

Also, Tara was lovely scenery. And yes, of course, he was well aware he wasn’t going to get laid out here, but when she bent over in those shorts or her top fell to show impeccable cleavage, well…how was he supposed to ignore that?

“All right, all right” Spike activated the flashlight function on his phone and moved closer to where Tara was standing and looking intently at some printouts of plants and flowers. A few had been marked off and stuffed into a notebook, along with little plastic bags containing the pictured items. But there were several more left. “Give me a few of those and some bags, then point me in a direction. I’ll see what I can find.”

Relieved, Tara handed over some pictures of plants she thought might grow in the same area and shooed Spike over to the west of their campsite. At least she didn’t have to worry about him getting lost; he’d always be able to find his way back with his enhanced senses of smell, hearing and sight. Tara headed in the opposite direction with a handful of rubber bands to mark the branches on trees that she passed. After an hour, she was thrilled to have the last three flowers she’d been looking for and started making her way back to the tent. Unfortunately, after ten minutes of walking, her flashlight stopped working and she was standing in complete blackness. Her rubber bands weren’t going to do her any good now. She hadn’t even thought to bring along the few simple ingredients for a locator spell. For a few minutes, she just stood there, afraid to walk in any direction in case it would be taking her farther from where she wanted to go. Tara had a very clear memory of being in a department store with her mother as a very small child and being told that if she found herself separated and alone, to just sit right down on the floor exactly where she was and not to move, that was the easiest way for someone to find her. She felt like such a baby (especially after having arrogantly reminded Spike she was a grown woman) when she felt her eyes start to well up with tears. She wiped them away immediately. That wasn’t going to do her any good. She had to think up a better plan. 

Just then, a light shone on her in the darkness. “There you are, princess”, came that obnoxious accent. “Flashlight give out on you?”

“Yeah”, she replied, not really sure what else to say. “Guess you found me the same way you find everything else?”

“Was on my way back to the tent. You weren’t there, but you were afraid. You were crying. Easy to find you with clues like that. Come on now, don’t give me that look. It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Alone in the woods with no flashlight and no way to find your way back to safety. You’re being silly now, gorgeous. Now come on, I’ve got all my things, have you got all yours?”

Feeling a bit more calm, Tara replied, “Yeah, I do, so now I guess we’ve got all we need for your hiding-place spell. If you want to head back-”

Spike sighed. “Love, it’s what I would have suggested. But you look like you could use a good night of sleep, and I think it would do me a bit of good to spend the night out here feeding on blood that doesn’t come from bags. What do you think? We can get up before the sun – you’ll be well-rested, I’ll be sated and I won’t burn up on the way.”

Thinking it over, it sounded pretty good to Tara. A night sleeping alone in the tent, Spike doing what was natural to him without any people getting hurt, and a safe ride home in the morning. “All right. You go on and do what you need to do, but _no people_ , even if you just happen to run across them!!”

Laughing, Spike held up two fingers and said “Scout’s honor, beautiful. You go and get some rest. I’ll wake you when it’s time to go.” And with that, he was gone in a blur. 

Tara changed into a nightgown and got into her sleeping bag thinking that Spike wasn’t such a bad guy after all. Maybe just a little misunderstood. People should give him more of a chance. Still, she wasn’t looking forward to planning on any more camping trips together anytime soon. Maybe a drink, though. They could learn a lot from each other if they just listened.


End file.
